Theatrum Italiae: Views of Italian Cities in Prints from the Collections of the Archdiocese of Olomouc

In the early modern period, Italy was one of Europe's most significant cultural centers. It was a place where ancient monuments, masterpieces of Renaissance and Baroque art could be admired, and contemporary architectural transformations could be observed. Cities like Rome, Florence, and Venice were true treasuries of visual forms and attracted travelers from all over Europe. While artists sought inspiration, studying the works of their predecessors and contemporaries, for young aristocrats, a visit to Italy often marked the culmination of their education. The experience from these so-called Grand Tours significantly shaped the cultural horizons of European elites and contributed to the spread of artistic styles and aesthetic ideas across the continent.

Information about the exhibition

EXHIBITION: Theatrum Italiae. Views of Italian cities in prints from the collections of the Archdiocese of Olomouc

DATE: 11 06 – 28 09 2026

LOCATION: Archdiocesan Museum Kroměříž – Kroměříž Archbishops’ Chateau

CURATOR: Helena Zápalková

RESTORATION WORK: Tomáš Guľaš, Veronika Langer Klimszová

INSTALLATION: Tomáš Guľaš, Filip Šindelář

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Kateřina Manková

TRANSLATION: Zuzana Henešová

PROMOTION: Tomáš Kasal, Martin Šinkovský

Prints played an important role in shaping the perception of Italy. Vedute, views of city streets, squares, and individual buildings, were published not only as separate sheets but also accompanied travelogues, itineraries, and atlases, allowing readers to symbolically (virtually) journey across Europe. For actual travelers, prints became a popular souvenir, a reminder of visited places, preserving "visual memory" and at the same time helping to spread the image of Italy as a center of European culture.

The chamber exhibition, composed exclusively of archiepiscopal collections preserved at Kroměříž Chateau, presents a selection of topographical albums and graphic vedute that depict Italian cities during their cultural and political heyday. Among the exhibits are examples of the generously conceived "atlas" of Italian cities by the Amsterdam publisher Joan Blaeu, views of Baroque Rome by Giovanni Battista Falda, and a representative collection of large-format vedute of Florence created after drawings by Giuseppe Zocchi.

The exhibition is also the first part of a longer-term cycle which, together with an accompanying catalog, follows on from the exhibition project Architecture in Prints 16th – 18th century from the collections of the Archdiocese of Olomouc, held at the end of 2025 at the Archdiocesan Museum Olomouc.

Presentation of Italian prints